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☆ Uniper Deal Is Lehman Moment for European Energy
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Rochelle Toplensky | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Gas giant Uniper is too big to fail, and German government officials are warning of further bailouts. Germany’s nationalization of gas giant Uniper announced Wednesday, lays bare the seismic ructions in the once-sleepy world of European utilities triggered by the new Cold War with Russia. Investing in the sector will change dramatically. Berlin said it would inject €8 billion, equivalent to $7.9 billion, in return for new equity at a nominal value of €1.70 a share. It will also buy Finnish utility company Fortum ’s majority stake in Uniper at the same rate.

Market players typically borrow to build short positions in the futures market, with 85-90% coming from banks. Any such drop in the number of players reduces market liquidity, which can in turn lead to even more volatility and sharper spikes in prices that can hurt even major players. read moreNorwegian state-owned firm Equinor, Europe's top gas trader, said this month that European energy companies, excluding in Britain, need at least 1.5 trillion euros ($1.5 trillion) to cover the cost of exposure to soaring gas prices. Doing this, sources familiar with talks said, would help bring participants back into the market and increase liquidity. The banks have hit or are close to hitting their liquidity risk and counterparty risk levels," a senior banking source involved in commodities finance said.

☆ The UK is burning through cash amid the energy crunch and risks stagflation unless it pushes through these growth hurdles, Mohamed El-Erian says
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Jennifer Sor | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

The UK risks stagflation unless it can push past these hurdles to its economic growth, according to top economist Mohamed El-Erian. Hurdles included the European energy crisis and the government's flawed response to encouraging growth so far. The global economy is also slowing down, which means the UK's domestic growth will be hard-pressed. But it could spell trouble for the UK's economy growth, as the government will likely need to borrow more to keep providing aid. While measures have been taken to address the soaring cost of fossil fuels, the climate change agenda has taken a backseat, which could hinder economic growth in the future.

Berlin/London CNN Business —Germany is nationalizing Uniper, its biggest importer of natural gas, as part of an €8 billion ($7.9 billion) plan to prevent an energy shortage this winter. The German government will hold around 99% of Uniper after injecting new capital and buying out its Finnish parent company Fortum (FOJCF), German Economy Minister Robert Habeck told journalists in Berlin on Wednesday. Uniper provides 40% of the country’s gas supply and is crucial for large companies and private consumers in Europe’s biggest economy. Under the rescue deal, the government committed to provide €7.7 billion ($7.8 billion) to cover potential future losses, while state-run bank KfW agreed to increase its credit facility by €7 billion ($7.1 billion). UK details subsidies for businessGermany is not alone in paying a very heavy price to overcome gas supply shortages.

Berlin/London (CNN Business) Germany is nationalizing Uniper , its biggest importer of natural gas, as part of an €8 billion ($7.9 billion) plan to prevent an energy shortage this winter. Uniper provides 40% of the country's gas supply and is crucial for large companies and private consumers in Europe's biggest economy. But Habeck said the situation had "worsened dramatically" since Russia cut off gas supplies to Europe through the Nord Stream 1 pipeline indefinitely on September 1, citing an oil leak. Although gas supplies through Nord Stream 1 are suspended, Germany's gas reserves are filled at more than 90% capacity, European Storage provider GIE AGSI+ said on its website. UK details subsidies for businessGermany is not alone in paying a very heavy price to overcome gas supply shortages.

☆ Watch CNBC's full interview with Goldman Sachs' Jeff Currie on oil prices
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailWatch CNBC's full interview with Goldman Sachs' Jeff Currie on oil pricesJeff Currie, Goldman Sachs global head of commodities research, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to break down his outlook for oil prices amid a potential price cap on Russian oil and a European energy crisis. "I've been doing this 30 years, and I've never seen a forecasted energy crisis ever materialize," Currie tells CNBC regarding a potential European energy crisis. "You've got inventories quite high at this point in time, and you've done a lot of demand destruction on the industrial side."

☆ Oil supplies will get tighter moving into the winter, says Goldman Sachs' Jeff Currie
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailOil supplies will get tighter moving into the winter, says Goldman Sachs' Jeff CurrieJeff Currie, Goldman Sachs global head of commodities research, joins CNBC's 'Squawk Box' to break down his outlook for oil prices amid a potential price cap on Russian oil and a European energy crisis.

☆ The head of investment strategy at BlackRock's $2.1 trillion iShares Americas unit says the Fed won't cut interest rates until at least 2024 — and reveals the stock market sectors best poised to retur
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-21 | by ( Lisa Kailai Han | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

All eyes are on the Federal Reserve to see how high Jerome Powell raises interest rates. BlackRock's Gargi Chaudhuri expects a 75 basis-point hike, and thinks rates won't be cut until 2024. She says investors should buy high-quality stocks in defensive sectors, plus inflation-linked bonds. That's according to Gargi Chaudhuri, head of investment strategy at BlackRock's iShares Americas unit, which currently manages around $2.13 trillion in assets. Specifically, Chaudhuri recommended investors consider short-duration bonds like 1, 2, and 3-year US Treasuries, 1 through 5-year investment-grade corporate bonds, and front-end inflation-linked bonds.

☆ Banks keep European shares afloat
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Shreyashi Sanyal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

REUTERS/StaffSummarySummary Companies Bank stocks set to outperform European sectors for the monthFed expected to raise interest rates by 75bps on WednesdaySwedish c.bank surprises with full percentage point rate hikeSept 20 (Reuters) - European shares edged higher on Tuesday, boosted by banks, while expectations of another large interest rate hike by the U.S. Federal Reserve kept risk-taking bets in check. The pan-European STOXX 600 (.STOXX) index added 0.1%, after a soft start to the week, with banks (.SX7P) climbing 1.6% by 0759 GMT as lenders tend to benefit from a high interest rate environment. The U.S. central bank will likely deliver its third straight super-sized 75 basis point interest rate hike on Wednesday, toughening its stance on persistent inflation. "It's all about central banks this week and it looks like the traders are actually pricing in both the Fed's rate hike and the interest rate hike from the Bank of England," said Erik-Jan van Harn, macro strategist at RaboResearch. Shares of Bachem Holding (BANB.S) soared 9.0%, to the top of the STOXX index, after the Swiss biotech supplier signed two new contracts for peptides.

☆ Cheniere CFO Aims for Investment-Grade Credit Rating as Natural-Gas Prices Soar
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Kristin Broughton | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +6 min

Cheniere Energy Inc.’s finance chief is working toward landing an investment-grade credit rating in the coming year, as the largest U.S. exporter of liquefied natural gas pays down debt and benefits from the run-up in energy prices. Photo: Cheniere Energy Inc. The company expects to reach investment grade next year based on its current rating and financial position, Mr. Davis said. An investment-grade rating would provide confidence to long-term investors and customers that the company can survive volatility in commodity markets, Mr. Davis said. Higher natural gas prices have been a boon to Cheniere’s finances, prompting it to accelerate plans to pay down debt.

☆ Europe's energy crisis has gotten so bad that French power stations are being allowed to break environmental rules as a fresh heatwave looks set to cause more chaos
▼ + stars: | 2022-08-09 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

French power stations are reportedly being allowed to break environmental rules to stay open, per Bloomberg. In France, the crisis is so bad that power stations are being permitted to break environmental rules to stay open as the country struggles to maintain national energy supplies, according to a report from Bloomberg. The waiver, reportedly in place until September, allows Electricite de France to keep the energy plants operating amid national pressure on supply. In France, rivers and waterways are used to cool power plants. Under the current environmental rules, nuclear plants must reduce or stop output when river temperatures reach a point at which use by the plants may harm the environment, per Bloomberg.

☆ Kremlin says Russia is reliable gas supplier, blames Europe for problems
▼ + stars: | 2022-07-21 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Pipes at the landfall facilities of the 'Nord Stream 1' gas pipeline are pictured in Lubmin, Germany, March 8, 2022. read moreThursday's flows were back at 40% capacity, Nord Stream figures showed. In a call with reporters, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Russia remains "a very important and indispensable part of European energy security". He rebuffed accusations by some Western politicians, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, that Russia was using energy supplies to "blackmail" Europe. He said that because of sanctions imposed by the European Union, Nord Stream 1 faced challenges in equipment maintenance.

Persons: Hannibal Hanschke, Vladimir Putin, Dmitry Peskov, Putin, Ursula von der Leyen, Peskov, David Goodman, Philippa Fletcher Organizations: REUTERS, Gazprom, Moscow, Siemens Energy, European, European Union, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Lubmin, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Europe, Russian, Canada, Nord

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